Ultimate XMen: BROTHERS IN ARMS
by Dino Pollard
Summary: Takes place after SINISTER RECKONING. A new terrorist group calling themselves the Brotherhood has emerged, and after they kill a human priest with antimutant views, they prove that they mean business.
1. Part I: First Strike

* * *

Issue #13 

"BROTHERS IN ARMS"  
Part I: First Strike 

_by Dino Pollard_

* * *

  
****

"You're insane." 

"Why?" 

"You can't be serious." 

"I _am_ serious, John," Scott replied. "I've never been more serious." 

"You can't tell Maggie!" John exclaimed. 

"And why not?" 

"Because... I dunno, you just can't," John replied. "It's like a secret agent code or whatever." 

"I never agreed to any code," Scott stated. "Besides, I really care about her, and I don't like lying to her." 

"Dude... this is a really bad idea," John said. "'Hey Maggie, how's it going? Oh, by the way, I'm part of a top-secret black ops team of mutants that works for the government. So, how was your weekend?' She'll be screaming once you mention the M word." 

"She's not like that," Scott replied. "You've never even met her." 

"That doesn't mean you can let her in on all our trade secrets," John stated. 

"Look, that's it, I've made the decision," Scott said. He grabbed his car keys and wallet off the nightstand and went for the door. "And there's not much you can do about it." 

"Sonnuva..." John sighed. He sat down on the bed and ran a hand through his hair. 

As Scott walked out of the room, he didn't notice the person standing concealed in the shadows. Once Scott walked past, he went in the opposite direction. 

* * *

Scott entered the parking garage where the car he had bought a week earlier on his government salary was parked. He almost felt a little bad for using taxpayer dollars to buy himself a car. But then he realized that those taxpayers probably hate his guts because he's a mutant, plus the fact that he's risking his life so they can survive. That, and the fact that he really liked old Mustangs. 

He turned on the garage light, and jumped back. 

"Christ Logan, what are you doing?" he asked. 

"I should ask you the same thing, Summers," Logan replied. He sat on the hood of Scott's car. 

"I'm going out," Scott stated and held up his keys. 

"No yer not." 

"Excuse me?" Scott asked. "When did the mansion become a police state?" 

"Yer jeopardizing national security," Logan replied. "You don't tell anyone about the mission. Period." 

"Proudstar you bastard..." Scott muttered under his breath. 

"Thunderbird didn't tell me shit," Logan interjected. "I overheard yer conversation." 

"You've been spying on me?" 

"My sense o' smell's not the only thing that's enhanced," Logan stated. "I can spot th' date on a penny from a mile away. I can feel brushstrokes on a wall. I can detect all the ingredients in just a spec o' food. And I could hear you two bozos talkin' from th' end o' the hall." 

"That's all fascinating," Scott stated, folding his arms. "But in case you forgot to notice, it's my life, not yours. And that makes it my decision." 

"All right, then, you've made yer decision," Logan said. He looked down at the car and ran his hand on the hood. "Nice car. Must've cost you a pretty penny." His hand closed into a fist and pressed down on the hood. 

***SNIKT***

Logan dragged his fist along the hood of the car. His claws tore the engine to pieces and left the hood with three very large tears in it. 

"Oops, clumsy me," he stated as he retracted his claws. He hopped off the hood, and lit a cigar. 

"Don't fuck with me, Summers," he stated. "Th' only reason I'm not reporting yer ass for insubordination is 'cause I got laid last night." 

Once Logan got to the door, he turned and faced Scott. 

"Enjoy yer date." 

* * *

"Hmm..." 

"What was that?" 

"I said 'hmm...'" 

"I know that," Monet stated. "What's 'hmm...'?" 

"Sorry, I'm just getting into this book," Hank replied. Monet sat upright on the couch, and Hank lay across it. His head was positioned in her lap, and both were reading books. 

"What is it?" she asked. 

"1984," Hank replied. 

"You never read that?" 

"No, I did," Hank stated. "I just felt like rereading it." 

"Any particular reason?" 

"Boredom I suppose." 

"Are you calling me boring, Mr. McCoy?" 

"Perish the thought, m'lady," Hank replied as he looked up at her. She put her book down as well and looked back at him. 

"Are you looking at something?" she asked. 

"You're perfect..." 

"I know," she replied. 

"So why this?" 

"Pardon?" Monet asked. 

"Why this?" Hank repeated. "Why us? You could have any guy you want." 

"I don't want 'any' guy," Monet replied. "I want a special guy. Vanity isn't important to me. I need to be with someone who has an intellect. Someone who is caring. Someone who can make me laugh. That someone is you, Henry." 

"Yeah, bu--mmph!" 

Hank was cut off once Monet pressed her lips to his. 

"Hey guys," Ali stated as she walked into the room. "I was just--" 

She stopped once she saw them in the embrace and slowly backed out. 

* * *

Scott walked back into his room, where John sat on the bed watching a football game. 

"Didn't you have a date?" John asked once he walked in. 

"I had some car trouble," Scott replied, plopping down on his bed. 

"Didn't you just buy that thing?" 

"Yeah," Scott stated. "Then it met Wolverine." 

"Wait... you're saying that Wolverine wrecked your car?" John asked. 

"Yeah," Scott replied. "Well, at least the engine." 

"Why?" 

"He overheard our conversation about Maggie." 

"Oh..." John muttered. "Shit." 

"Exactly," Scott replied."Just add 'bull' to that word, and you've described the situation." 

"What are you gonna do?" 

"We didn't have an actual date set," Scott said. "I was gonna go over there and surprise her with the new car. It kind of ruins the surprise if I ask her to come here and show her that the engine is totaled." 

"Yeah, I hear ya." 

John turned off the game and tossed the remote to Scott. 

"Damn, this game sucks..." he muttered. He got out of bed and stretched out a bit. "I'm gonna go for a little walk around the grounds, see if I can track down O." 

"What's going on with you two?" 

"Absolutely nothing," John replied. "And it sucks major ass." 

* * *

"Y'know, I have to wonder about the ethics of a college professor swindling teenage girls out of their hard-earned money..." Jean commented. 

"You're the one who challenged me, Jean," Charles noted. "Next time when Hank tells you something, I'm guessing that you'll believe it." 

"But I beat Hank..." 

"Telekinesis doesn't count," Charles stated with a grin. 

***KLAK***

"How'd you...?" 

"Jean, don't patronize me. I've been hearing other people's thoughts since I was thirteen." 

"Isn't it unethical for you to read other people's minds without permission?" Jean asked. 

Charles looked up at her as he prepared to strike the ball with his pool stick. 

"Who do I look like? Ghandi?" 

***KLAK***

"What's on your mind, Jean?" 

"You tell me, Professor." 

"Very well..." Charles stated. "From what I understand, you're not very fond of working for the government. You despise the fact that your powers aren't fully developed, and you feel like the weak link in the team." 

"Well, you are psychic." 

"Actually, I haven't scanned your mind, yet." 

***KLAK***

* * *

He enjoyed the feeling of the wind in his hair. The freedom that running gave him. And, although he would never admit it, a part of him enjoyed the solitary feeling. This was the time when John Proudstar felt free. 

"Slow down, handsome." 

"Huh?" John asked. He turned briefly and broke his concentration. He looked back quickly to see a tree in his path. "OH SHI--!" 

***BOOM***

"Sorry about that," Ali stated. She crouched down to face John. "You okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm always fine after running into trees..." John muttered, rubbing his head. "Why'd you distract me, anyway?" 

"Oh, I dunno," Ali said once John got to his feet. "I just thought we could... talk." 

"Talk?" John asked as he raised an eyebrow. 

"Yeah... talk." 

She linked her arm in his and looked up at his face. 

"That okay with you?" 

John looked off in the distance and saw Ororo practicing with rain clouds. He grinned and turned back to Ali. 

"Sure is." 

* * *

Powerful earthquakes began to shake the church. Flames surrounded it. People ran. 

Reverend Stryker watched in horror as the one thing he had dedicated his life to - his faith - was destroyed before his eyes by fire and crumbled to the ground. 

The ground continued to shake. 

Stryker knew what this was. He knew who was behind this. Those genetic defects. The ones who were sent by the devil. He knew that his God wanted him to see them destroyed. He knew they were children of Satan. 

He sniffed the air. A burning stench surrounded the area. Then, a hand possessed of three fingers wrapped around his face. Stryker pulled away and spun around. He saw the face of the enemy. 

"Demon!!" he exclaimed. 

"Nein," the indigo-skinned mutant replied. "Nightcrawler." 

A massive shadow loomed over Stryker and Nightcrawler. 

"Toad wishes to speak to this... man of God," a larger man stated. His body was composed of metal and gleamed in the firelight. His voice had a hint of a Russian accent. 

"Keep an eye on Sunspot and Avalanche, then," Nightcrawler commented. He grabbed Stryker. "Brace yourself, _mein fuhrer._" 

***BAMF***

In a flash of light and the stench of sulfur, Nightcrawler and Stryker vanished. They materialized near the church, where a lanky man with long, curly black hair and green skin sat in a crouched position. Several people surrounded him. One was a young girl with curly auburn hair that had a white streak in it. Another was a deformed young woman who had bones sticking out of her pinkish skin. And the last was dressed in winter clothing, combined with snow goggles. Stryker also noticed a video camera on a tripod. 

Nightcrawler threw Stryker forward, and he fell at the lanky man's feet. 

"This th' wanker?" 

Nightcrawler nodded. 

"Guess introductions are in order, then, eh?" he stated. "Th' name's Toad, Reverend Stryker. You've already met Nightcrawler an' Colossus. Avalanche an' Sunspot are seein' t' tearin' down yer place of worship. The rest o' me mates are Rogue, Marrow, an' Iceman. Th' eight of us represent yer worst nightmare, arsehole." 

"Demons one and all..." Stryker stated. "Sent by Satan himself!" 

"Nah, that's not it at all," Toad replied. He stepped towards the video camera. Stryker felt his body temperature begin to drastically drop. 

"In case y' didn't already notice, Iceman's freezing every sodding drop of water in your worthless, human body," Toad stated. "In a few moments, you'll be nothin' more than an ice sculpture." 

"O-Our father... wh-who art in--in h-h-heaven..." Stryker began, his breath visible due to the cold air. 

"Don't waste th' effort, y' bleedin' sod," Toad noted. "Just gonna make things harder on yourself." 

Stryker's skin began to turn a shade of blue as a sheet of ice seemed to form around his body. Toad looked into the lens of the video camera. 

"I want all of humanity out there t' pay attention," he ordered. "Stryker is th' enemy. Mutants are the next step in evolution. It's time for you flatscans t' learn that. We're the inheritors of this worthless ball o' dirt. So you better start treatin' us nicely." 

He suddenly leapt in the air, and landed directly on Stryker. The impact of the Toad's powerful mutant legs caused what was once Reverend William Stryker to shatter into thousands of crystalline shards. 

"Stryker's an example," Toad warned. "He advocated violence against mutants. Any further attacks against mutants will be considered as attacks on me mates an' I. We make no distinctions - all of humanity will pay the price if someone screws it up for the rest." 

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He placed one in his mouth and lit it, then looked back at the camera as he took a drag. Colossus, Avalanche, and Sunspot returned to the group as he did so. 

"We're th' Brotherhood of Mutants," Toad stated. "So you gits better bloody-well behave." 


	2. Part II: Retaliation

* * *

Issue #14 

"BROTHERS IN ARMS"  
Part II: Retaliation 

_by Dino Pollard_

* * *

  
****

{{ ...mysterious Brotherhood attacked an abortion clinic... }} 

{{ ...following reports indicate many dead... }} 

{{ ...Reverend Stryker hailed as hero... }} 

{{ ...the Senator from Florida commented... }} 

{{ ...response to the Brotherhood leads to more anti-mutant groups popping up... }} 

{{ ...still no comment from the White House or the President on the mutant situation... }} 

{{ ...rumors are circulating that the Brotherhood is connected in some way to the mysterious Magneto... }} 

{{ "We're th' Brotherhood of Mutants. So you gits better bloody-well behave." }} 

"Oh, fuck him!" 

"Calm down, O," Jean stated. She looked at Charles. "What does this mean?" 

Charles leaned forward in his wheelchair and looked at the large monitor before them. It monitored several news broadcasts at once. And all of them were covering the Brotherhood." 

"It's what I was afraid of..." he muttered. 

"What's that?" Ali asked. 

"Magneto's become a martyr," Logan noted. There was a cigar in his hand as he spoke. "He's got followers out there, now. Followers who are just as crazy as he is." 

"Yeah, but this Brotherhood..." Scott stated. "I mean, we took down Magneto and Sinister. They can't be that much of a threat." 

"It's not a matter of power, Scott," Charles stated. "It's a matter of influence. If the Brotherhood receives the same amount of exposure Magneto did, we'll be facing off against another version in a few short months." 

"What are we supposed to do, then?" Hank asked. "We can't just let innocent people die." 

"I know, Hank," Charles replied. "Which is why I was about to put in a call to Colonel Fury." 

"That's just a waste of time," Jean stated. "We should just go out there and stop them." 

"Not smart, girl," Logan said. "We need some more intel, first. Y'can't go running into a situation like this half-cocked. I know none o' yer are big on procedure - lord knows I'm not. But if y' just go running into somethin' blindly, yer just gonna end up doin' more harm than good." 

"Well, is what they're doing really so bad?" Ororo asked. Everyone looked at her. "C'mon, think about it. They've only been attacking anti-mutant groups so far. What's wrong with that?" 

"Th' Nazis started off th' same way," Logan replied. "We gotta nip this in th' bud before it becomes an epidemic." 

"What do we do in the meantime?" Ali asked. 

"Only thing we can do," Charles replied. "We have to be ready for anything. Logan?" 

Logan took a final drag on his cigar. He allowed the smoke to fill his lungs and then expunged what remained. His healing factor instantly repaired any damage the nicotine and tar could cause. He then extinguished it in an ashtray and faced the rest of the X-Men. 

"In other words, get yer asses to th' Danger Room," he ordered. 

* * *

"Anyone see th' papers? We kick ass." 

"Don't mean a blasted thing, Rogue," the Toad stated. "We've got a job t'do, an' that job's not even close t'bein' done yet." 

"Is this really the way to go about it?" Nightcrawler asked. 

"You questioning our leadership, mate?" Toad asked. 

"I could never do that," Nightcrawler replied. "But are we sure about what we're doing? Will this really help mutants?" 

"Don't start spoon-feeding us that fucking bullshit, Darkholme," Iceman noted. "Humans have been suppressing mutants for long enough. And frankly, I'm sick of being the bug when I should be the windshield." 

"Well said, lad," Toad stated. He leapt in front of Nightcrawler. "Keep in mind why you're here, ya bleedin' gypsy circus freak. We're th' front line, mate. If we don't stand up t' these sods, then who will? Evolution created us, but we've gotta take it a step further. If you don't like it, then I'll kindly introduce your bum t' the exi--" 

Toad was cut-off mid-sentence once the ground shook. He was able to maintain his balance, however, and he looked towards the source of the quake. 

"Leave the kid alone, Toynbee," Avalanche warned. "Or you'll get to see just how dangerous a man who generates vibrations can be." 

"Is that a threat, Petros?" 

"No, it's a promise. You may think you're in charge, Toad, but remember that you're nothing compared to the boss." 

"Don't. Push. Me," Toad warned, getting into Avalanche's face. Once he did so, his tongue flicked out instantly, and smacked Avalanche lightly on the cheek. 

"Why must Dominick always engage in these arguments with Toad?" Colossus muttered. 

"Don't ask me, Rasputin - he's your boyfriend," Sunspot replied. 

"Dom is not my boyfriend," Colossus stated. "We just have sex occasionally." 

"Yeah, whatever," Sunspot stated. 

"Where's Marrow, anyway?" Colossus asked. 

"Probably in her room, getting off on her bones." 

"Wonderful group I've found my way into..." 

"If you want, we can easily give you back to your father's men," Sunspot noted. 

"And I'm sure the tabloids would be overjoyed that the heir of DaCosta International is a mutant terrorist." 

The two stared at each other long and hard. Roberto DaCosta and Piotr Rasputin could be extremely deadly. Both of them knew this. And both of them knew how deadly the other could be. However, they remained still and cautious, content with sizing each other up. Colossus knew that if Sunspot fired a blast of solar energy, he would instantly convert his flesh into organic steel. Sunspot knew that if Colossus swung at him, he would convert to his Sunspot form and vaporize the Russian enforcer's arm. He wasn't sure if solar energy could melt organic steel, but he was willing to find out. 

"That is quite enough!" 

The Brotherhood halted their actions and looked towards the commanding presence which had entered the room. The founder of the Brotherhood. Every single member of the Brotherhood owed their leader in some form or another. 

"Boss..." Toad muttered. "I didn't know you came in." 

"That's because I'm good, Mortimer," the founder replied. "You'd do well to remember that. Now, could someone please tell me what's going on here?" 

The members of the Brotherhood all began to speak at one time. Each one had a different take on the tale. Each one wanted their voice heard. 

"One at a time!" the founder exclaimed. 

"It's nothing, boss," Toad stated. "We were just blowin' off some steam." 

"Not really..." Rogue spoke up. The founder looked towards the young woman, and Toad glared at her from behind. "Toad was pickin' on Nightcrawler, an' Avalanche got in his face about it. Then one thing led t' another an'..." 

"Is this true?" the founder asked. Toad kept his eyes fixed on Rogue. Avalanche slowly nodded his head. The founder looked at Nightcrawler, who also nodded. 

"But y'don't understand!" Toad spoke up. "Th' rugrat was speakin' out about th' Brotherhood! He was sayin' how he didn't think what we're doin' is right!" 

"Nightcrawler, wait for me in the annex," the founder ordered without looking at the young German boy. "Now." 

Nightcrawler nodded and vanished in a flash of bright light. The founder continued to stare at Toad. 

"You were appointed as field leader of this squad for one reason, Toad. And that is because of all the Brotherhood, you have the most experience. You should know how to handle dissention in the ranks. You do not, I repeat, do NOT, under any circumstances, attack your fellow teammates. Don't make me regret liberating you from Black Air." 

Toad lowered his head and looked at the ground. A slight smirk grew on Avalanche's face, and Colossus couldn't help but smile at that. Then, the founder addressed the rest of the group. 

"That goes for the rest of you as well." 

"But what about--" 

"I will deal with Nightcrawler, Toad." 

The founder turned to exit the room. 

"You're the Brotherhood of Mutants. So start acting like it." 

* * *

**The Danger Room**

The name is pretty self explanatory. The Danger Room. A room filled with danger. It was the brainchild of Charles Xavier, a way to test the limits of his students and help them to learn more about their powers. When Xavier was appointed the head of Project: X-MEN, Fury and SHIELD were ordered to follow his orders. Which meant taking the land Charles Xavier inherited from his late father and converting it into a full-fledged military compound. While Xavier and Logan went across the country recruiting mutants, SHIELD technicians worked 'round the clock to build several sub-basement levels beneath the mansion. In addition to installing and augmenting the Cerebro unit, the technicians also designed and built the Danger Room. 

It's equipped with the latest in animatronic technologies. Robotic drones, gun turrets, rocket launchers, flame-throwers, and more are utilized to keep the X-Men on their toes and to prepare them for threats they might encounter. The entire room is controlled from a small booth above them, in which Xavier has full access to all the Danger Room systems and programs. 

The room itself is about a mile wide in length, height, and width. It gives the X-Men more than enough room to hone their abilities, as well as to use teamwork strategy. From the ground, Wolverine takes command of his team, directing them, spouting orders like a drill sergeant. 

"I want this area cleared of civilians!" he shouted. "Psyche! Beast! That's yer job!" 

The "civilians" in this case were drones which were smaller in size and marked with a "C" on their foreheads. The purpose of the exercise was to destroy the threats without harming the civilians. They were caught in the middle of a firefight, and in order to protect them, Psyche erected a telekinetic shield around them from a distance. 

"Hank, hurry!" Psyche exclaimed. "I don't know how long I can keep this up!" 

"Only use codenames in th' field, Psyche!" Wolverine ordered. "That's th' reason we gave 'em t' ya!" 

"Copy that, Log--er, Wolverine," Beast stated. He somersaulted into the fray, dodging past gunfire and explosions. "Get ready to drop the shield once I reach them, Psyche. I don't want to end up slamming into it by accident." 

"I read you, Beast," Psyche stated. The entire team was able to keep in contact through the use of headsets. 

"Why can't her power manifest itself in a pink bird or something...?" Beast silently wondered as he fell towards the civilians. Like all psychics, Jean possessed no energy signature for her powers. So Hank McCoy had no way of knowing if the shield was up or not. 

"Psyche, I'm coming in, drop the shield," Beast stated. He received no response. "Psyche, do you copy?" 

Nothing still. The ground grew closer. He was beginning to worry. 

"PSYCHE!" 

Still nothing. He prepared himself to run into an invisible barrier blocking him from the victims. Instead, he fell to the ground behind them. It took the Beast only a moment to overcome his brief shock. He quickly scooped up the two civilians and leapt away. 

"Nice save, Beast," Psyche stated. 

"You WERE on-line!" Beast exclaimed. 

"Guilty as charged," Psyche stated with a grin. 

"Bitch..." Beast muttered, placing the civilians someplace safe. 

* * *

"Cyclops, I want several low-angle blasts from you aimed at th' turrets," Wolverine ordered. "Storm, let's see some o' that chain lightning you're supposed t' have been practicin'. M, stay close t' Storm an' provide her back-up from any rockets that might come yer way. Dazzler, it's up t' you t' blind these bastards with a lightshow. Once she does that, Thunderbird an' I'll take out the drones up close an' personal." 

"Quick question," Thunderbird noted. "If Dazzler's able to blind those drones, then what's to stop her lightshow from blinding us, too?" 

"'Member those contact lenses y' were given?" Wolverine asked. "In response t' bright lights, they close up, allowin' only a minimum amount of light through, just enough for you t' see what's going on. They also work for th' opposite, when y' need night vision." 

"Whoa... cool," Thunderbird stated. 

Dazzler lifted her arms up. Her body acted as a conduit, absorbing all the sound in the immediate area. With the roar of the battle, that was quite a lot of sound. Concentrating, she utilized her mutant ability to convert that sound into a bright and colorful light show. It fried the visual receptors of the drones, but thanks to the contact lenses, the X-Men were left unscathed. 

"Thunderbird, go!" Wolverine commanded. He ran forward, adamantium claws extended. He tore into the drones as if they were paper. The metal shredded beneath his claws with ease. 

Thunderbird had a bit more trouble with it. His strength was considerable, but pounding steel with fists never got easy. Despite the fact that those fists were covered with leather gloves. He felt a tinge of pain, and knew that his knuckles would be sore later tonight. 

"Hey, these contacts work pretty well," T-Bird noted. "I can see through the lightshow as if it didn't even exist!" 

"That was th' plan," Wolverine stated. "They've only got one design flaw." 

"What's that?" 

"Y'gotta be wearin' 'em." 

"Storm to Wolverine, quick question." 

"Shoot," Wolverine stated. 

"Why is it Miss Perfect gets assigned her first initial as a codename, when I've gotta go by the corny-ass name of Storm?" 

"Th' first choice was Marvel Girl," Wolverine stated. "But that's even cornier, an' it's not like M needs another ego-boost." 

"I heard that." 

"Y'were meant to, M." 

* * *

**Later**

"Very impressive," Charles stated. "Very impressive, indeed. You eliminated the threats and protected the civilians. All in all, I'd say you did a great job." 

The X-Men all stood before Xavier, still in uniform. Each of them held towels. Some wiped the sweat from their brow with them. 

"Logan, any thoughts?" 

"Y'talk too much," Wolverine replied. "Ya've gotta learn when t' keep radio silence. An' remember t' stick with the codenames. You may not like 'em, but they serve a purpose. Other than that, ya worked as a team an' accomplished th' mission parameters. Hit th' showers, yer done." 

There were sighs of relief as the X-Men walked towards their respective locker rooms. 

"Psyche, hold up," Logan stated. Jean stopped and walked back towards Logan. He turned his head to see Xavier already wheeling out of the room. 

"Something wrong, Logan?" she asked. 

"Yeah," Logan replied. "Don't do that again." 

"Do what again?" 

"Don't play dumb with me, girl. I was listenin' in t'yer convo with Beast in th' field," Logan stated. "He told you t' drop the shield, an' you gave no response." 

"Oh that," Jean stated with a slight giggle. "I was just playing a little joke on him." 

"I know," Logan stated. "Don't do it again. There's a time f'r fun an' a time f'r work." 

"It was just a training session, and I was just having some fun with him." 

"Don't matter," Logan said. "Y' gotta be able to trust each other. An' it's not easy t'do that when yer playin' jokes like that in the middle of a mission - simulated or otherwise." 

Logan stepped towards the men's locker room, and Jean simply stood there, watching him. 

"We won't be havin' this conversation again," he stated. There was a hint of warning in his voice, an edge to it that he never used when speaking to Jean. 

"No... we won't," Jean stated. "Sir." 

* * *

**Washington, DC; 24:00:00**

"Sir, this came for you a few moments ago." 

President Bush looked at the package the Secret Service agent held in his hand. Nick Fury stood in the corner, and Henry Peter Gyrich was sitting in one of the chairs in front of Bush's desk in the Oval Office. Dr. Valerie Cooper sat in the other chair. 

"Has it gone through procedure?" Fury asked. 

"Yes sir," the agent replied. "We ran it through several tests. No explosives were found. It's a videotape. We viewed it and..." 

The agent looked at each of the three men and the one woman, then sighed. 

"It's a message from the Brotherhood, sir." 

"Put it on," Fury ordered. "This is somethin' we gotta take care of immediately." 

The agent looked at Bush, who nodded in agreement. 

"We have to know what we're up against here," he stated. "I told the public that we won't tolerate terrorism. That includes mutant terrorists." 

The agent nodded and placed the tape inside a VCR. The image of Toad surrounded by the Brotherhood came up. 

"Greetings, Mr. President," Toad stated. "I know we're probably th' last blokes you wanna see, so I'll make this brief: we don't have to be doing this. Us at the Brotherhood would be perfectly willing t' step back under one condition. An' that condition is for you to step down as President. We mutants don't feel we have enough representation in the Republican party. Same goes for the Democrats. And the Green Party. And the Reform party. And whatever bloody party of the week is out there now. So, here's what I propose. 

"We want a mutant President. Someone who understands our plight. Someone who can speak for us. An' considerin the fact that we're your replacements, it'd be in your best interests to cooperate. Otherwise, what happened on September 11th will seem like nothing compared to what we can do." 

Bush stiffened slightly at the Toad's words. The mutant certainly knew how to inspire fear in people. Even Fury and Gyrich felt a bit shaken by Toad's speech. 

"You have twenty-four hours. We'll be in touch," Toad stated. He made a kissing face and then, the screen went black. 

"This is insanity!" Gyrich exclaimed. "Sir, if this isn't enough to convince you to activate the Sentinels, then I don't know what--" 

"Enough with the fucking Sentinels already!" Fury shouted. "Th' only way yer gonna release Gestapo-bots on th' American public is over my dead body!" 

Gyrich gave Fury a face which seemed to say, "doable." Fury remained as rigid as ever. He wasn't phased by this bigot, and he wanted to make sure that Gyrich understood that. 

"Let's look at this rationally," Val interjected. "From what we've seen, the Brotherhood is just a group of mutants, right? Well, we've got our own group of mutants waiting in the wings." 

"How do we know that they won't join up with the Brotherhood?!" Gyrich demanded. "Birds of a feather!" 

"For the same reason that not every German signed up with th' Nazis," Fury stated. "Th' X-Men are on our payroll. They work for us. They agreed to our terms." 

Gyrich looked at Bush. He had prayed that the leader of the country wouldn't be sucked in by mutant propaganda. 

"You can't be considering this..." Gyrich stated. 

"I'm not," Bush replied. "I'm authorizing it. Colonel Fury, send in the X-Men. We're going to deal with this Brotherhood threat once and for all. If you have something constructive to add Mr. Gyrich, then you may stay. Otherwise, please vacate the premises." 

Gyrich was appaled at how he was spoken to. He was in charge of the NSA. He should be treated better than this. He should receive priority. This was a matter of national security, and that was his area of expertise. 

Gyrich stormed out of the office. The entire time he was walking, as he was driving back to his office, one thought remained stuck in his head: Bush wouldn't get away with this. 

He pulled out his cellphone and quickly dialed a number. 

"It's Gyrich," he stated. "Release the M-Squad." 

* * *

**21:32:59**

"Got anymore of that coffee?" Scott asked. Hank handed him the thermos and took a sip from his own cup. 

"Thanks," Scott said, pouring some in his cup. "Goddamn, this is boring." 

"You're telling me," Hank noted. "I'd much rather be sitting at home right now." 

"How do we know that the Brotherhood will attack here, anyway?" 

"We don't, but SHIELD intelligence says this is one of the most-likely targets," Hank explained. "Based on the Brotherhood's previous attacks, this seems most-likely." 

The phone began to ring. Beast snapped it up. 

"Yes?" he asked, turning it on immediately. "What? Are you serious? Okay, we'll be right there." 

He hung up the phone and started the car up. 

"What is it?" Scott asked. 

"The Brotherhood's attacked someplace else." 

Before Hank could begin driving, however, there was an explosion. 

* * *

**Area 51**

"Colonel Wraith!" 

The bald man turned to face the officer who addressed him. He was a young man, recently transferred to Area 51. He gave Wraith a salute once the colonel faced him. Wraith saluted him back. 

"At ease," Wraith ordered. The soldier relaxed slightly, but still remained stiff in his composure. 

"The Commander thought you might want to see this, sir," the agent stated. He handed Wraith a piece of paper from a manilla folder. Wraith scanned over it quickly and a large grin appeared on his face. He handed the paper back to the agent. 

"Burn that," he ordered. The agent nodded and left the room. Wraith turned to the other men who were seated around the debriefing table. An image was brought up on the main screen. Eight headshots appeared on the screen. 

"Wolverine, Cyclops, Psyche, Storm, Beast, Thunderbird, Dazzler, and M," Wraith stated. "The X-Men. The only smart move Bush has made since he moved in. A mutant strike force is a great idea. The only problem is that he doesn't keep them on a short enough leash. That's why I'm here. That's what Weapon X is for." 

He looked at the assosciates and turned off the monitor. 

"I've just been informed that the Commander of this particular squad has assembled the best in terms of a mutant strike force." 

"What about the X-Men?" one of the men asked. 

"The X-Men are obsolete," Wraith stated. "Weapon X will serve as their replacements. And I'd like to introduce you gentlemen to our ace in the hole--" 

The door opened up and a very large, animal-like man with blonde hair cut in a military style entered the room. His face was fixed in a snarl, and his fangs were plainly visible. His eyes possessed catlike pupils. 

"--Victor Creed, Sabretooth," Wraith finished. "Gyrich is an idiot if he thinks he can fight evolution by eliminating the mutants. More will be born, it's just a matter of time. The way I see it, why fight evolution when we can control it? That's the purpose behind Weapon X, my friends - control." 

* * *

**21:30:47**

"Uhh..." Beast muttered, looking up. "What was that?" 

Cyclops got out of the car, and looked forward. He saw the cause of the explosion, coming through the flames. It had been months since he had seen them, and he had hoped that perhaps they were over and done with. He was wrong. 

"Oh shit..." he muttered. 

"What?" Beast asked. He got out of the car as well, and looked in the direction of the flames. He noticed Cyclops lifted a hand to the side of his visor. Beast sighed. Things were going to get a lot harder before they got better. 

"The M-Squad..." he muttered. 


	3. Part III: The Founder

* * *

Issue #15 

"BROTHERS IN ARMS"  
Part III: The Founder 

_by Dino Pollard_

* * *

  
****

**21:25:59**

"The M-Squad..." Beast muttered. "I thought we were done with these guys." 

"Looks like we thought wrong..." Cyclops stated. His hand rested on the side of his visor, prepared to activate it at a moment's notice. "C'mon... just gimme a reason you sons of bitches..." 

"Stay right where you are!" an M-Squad agent shouted, holding up his rifle. "Don't move or we shoot!" 

Beast and Cyclops exchanged glances and the two young men grinned. Cyclops flipped the dial on his visor, opening it the full 180 degrees. The blast was wide enough to clear a path through the first flank. He looked to see Beast already bounding through the air, and smiled as he grabbed one agent's gun with his feet and then smacked him with it. Beast then looked at the gun, studying it for a few moments, before using it on another agent. 

"Look at this..." he stated. "Their guns work on humans, too." 

* * *

"Is it just me or are these M-Squad guys a dime a dozen?" Psyche asked. M ignored her question and instead concentrated on decimating the M-Squad's forces. Her powers were telekinetic in nature. She constantly has a low-level psionic forcefield surrounding her body, and this also helps to increase her strength and allows her to fly. However, unlike Psyche, M can't levitate other objects. As M proves by taking out two M-Squad agents, this doesn't make her any less powerful. 

Psyche, however, is still working at developing her powers. She's not as skilled as M, but nowhere close to helpless. But against the M-Squad, she can't take any chances. She concentrates, using her TK to try and deflect the bullets. One by one, she begins to psionically pull their weapons away. This gives M the chance she needs to dive down and take them out. 

"Maybe there's something to this teamwork stuff after all," said Psyche. M offered no reply. The young Algerian woman didn't appear to be comfortable with anyone on the team, save for Beast. 

"Psyche, contact the others telepathically," ordered M. "Inform them of the situation." 

"I can't get a fix on them," replied Psyche. "Looks like we're flying blind this time." 

* * *

"I've been waiting for a rematch with you assholes!!" exclaimed Thunderbird. He ran towards a single agent, joining his hands together and swinging at the agent with all his might. The force was so great that the man felt the impact of the blow through his helmet. Thunderbird followed it up with a slam to the man's chest. 

Before any of the other agents could retaliate, Dazzler unleashed a flurry of light bursts from her hands. The effect would have blinded them, but their helmets provided protection for their eyes. 

"Nice try, Britney," said one. He lifted up his weapon and fired. Some sort of energy field erupted from it and encased her in it. "Your bio says that you need sound to use your powers. Too bad no sound can get through that shield." 

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!" exclaimed Thunderbird. He rushed the man, but the man countered by firing his weapon again. This time, some sort of canister shot out. Once it struck Thunderbird, a gas of some sort erupted. 

"What the hell *cough* is this?" he asked. 

"It's a slow-acting toxin," replied the agent. "Your speed also means you have a faster metabolism. Which means it'll start affecting you long before it even begins to affect us." 

"Y'see, we know all about you," said the other. "The M-Squad plays for keeps, X-Man. And we've got the means t' take you out. So you can bet we're gonna use those means." 

The agent lifted up his gun and placed the barrel to Thunderbird's head. Before the trigger could be pulled however, a small explosion erupted behind the agents. 

"What the hell?" asked the agent. He moved away from Thunderbird just as something hard slammed into his abdomen. The other agent lifted his gun to fire at the source, but it exploded. 

Thunderbird looked up to see a man dressed from head to toe in black, complete with a full facemask. He held a bo-staff in his hands. With the two agents decimated, he took one look at Thunderbird, nodded, and then ran off into the distance. Thunderbird watched as he pulled himself up a fire escape and took it to the top of the building. Then, he hopped from building to building. 

"JOHN!" 

Thunderbird looked up to see Storm lowering herself to the ground. She noticed Dazzler incased in the energy field and ran over to her. 

"What the hell is this?" 

"The M-Squad," replied Thunderbird. "They encased her in some sort of field so no sound could get in." 

"Perfect..." said Storm. "You took them both out?" 

"No, some weird guy dressed all in black took care of them." 

Storm looked at Thunderbird for a few seconds, but then turned back to Dazzler. 

"Where's Wolverine?" asked Thunderbird. "Wasn't he with you?" 

"We were attacked same as you," replied Storm. "He told me I didn't want to see this and ordered me to get the others." 

"What do we do about her?" asked Thunderbird. 

"I dunno..." replied Storm. "Here, let me try something. Stand back." 

Thunderbird moved away, and Storm placed her hands on Dazzler's body. Lightning erupted from her hands, encasing the forcefield. Then, feedback came, and with a blinding flash of light, Storm was shot back. The field around Dazzler slowly began to vanish, however. 

"Not bad," said Thunderbird. He gripped his stomach. The toxin was still in his system. He didn't think it was deadly, but it sure made him feel like shit. It must've just been designed to slow him down. "Storm?" 

He turned around to see her lying unconscious on the ground. The feedback must've been too much for her. 

"Oh hell..." 

* * *

"Very impressive, Charles... I see you've certainly been keeping busy since last we met." 

Charles Xavier lay motionless on the floor. Therefore, he was unable to offer any sort of response. The founder of the Brotherhood was busy examining the Cerebro system. 

"So this is how you found them all, eh? You always talked about developing Cerebro back in the old days. Glad to see you finally accomplished your goals. Too bad you had to become a sell-out in order to achieve them." 

"Don't. Move." 

The founder turned around to see Xavier still lying on the floor. His left arm was beneath him, propping him up slightly. He looked straight at the founder. In his right hand was a gun aimed straight at the founder. 

"I mean it, Raven." 

"Firearms, Charles?" asked the indigo-skinned woman. "How unbecoming of you. And by the way, you can call me Mystique." 

"How did you get in here?" asked Charles. 

"Simple - I'm a shapeshifter," replied Mystique. "It's not that hard to get past security cameras and fingerprint scans when you can change into anything you want. And as for your psychic powers, well, you taught me how to shield myself from scans. Now come on, Charles. Put down the gun. We both know you can't use it." 

***BANG***

Mystique fell to the ground as the bullet pierced her leg. Charles took this moment to pull himself up into his wheelchair. 

"Don't presume to know me, Darkholme..." he stated. He kept the gun trained on her and picked through her mind. It was difficult, but he had to try and find the location of the Brotherhood. He scanned their location, and transmitted it to the rest of the X-Men. 

* * *

Colonel Fury walked down the corridor of the SHIELD HQ. He gripped the knob on the door at the end of the hallway. On it was his name engraved on a brass plate. He turned the knob and stepped inside. The first thing he smelled was cigar smoke, yet he hadn't been in here all day and he wasn't smoking one now. 

"Good evening, Colonel." 

Fury slowly walked forward. His eye was filled with rage towards the man who was sitting in his chair, feet propped up on Fury's desk. He was bald, with three scars running across his face, and a cigar perched between his lips. He held open a box full of them towards Fury. 

"Cuban?" he asked. 

"Those are illegal," replied Fury. 

"So is a lot of stuff we do." 

"I'm only gonna ask you this once, Wraith - what the hell are you doing in my office?" 

"Who says it's gonna be your office for much longer?" asked Wraith. 

"Is that a threat?" 

"You tell me." 

Fury leaned in close to Wraith. 

"Keep on pushin'," hissed Fury. "I'm itchin' ta push back." 

"Now _that_ is a threat," said Wraith. 

"Don't ya got other matters t' attend to?" asked Fury. 

"I'm already the head of my department, Fury," said Wraith. "It didn't take me long to get that position. And now, after fifteen years, I may be looking at the top spot." 

"Over my dead body," said Fury. "Besides, don't ya got a rogue super soldier runnin' around?* That can't be promising for yer career." 

( *Check out _Ultimate Avengers_ for more info - Dino ) 

"So far, it's not as bad as mutant terrorists running around while your strike force has their tails stuck between their legs," said Wraith. "You should be more careful, Fury. But I guess monocular vision makes it hard to see things in perspective." 

"Get the fuck out of my office." 

Wraith stood and put the cigar out on Fury's desk. Fury grabbed him and shoved his face onto the spot where the cigar ask was. 

"Ya see that?" asked Fury. "Yer gettin' the repair bill." 

He then shoved Wraith into the wall. He opened the door, and pushed him out. 

Wraith began to walk down the corridor. 

"Hey Wraith." 

He turned to look at Fury standing in his doorway. 

"Word t' the wise, asshole - watch yer fucking mouth." 

Fury then slammed the door. Wraith continued walking down the corridor, ignoring the stares of other agents. He grinned. Mission accomplished. He was getting to Fury. Soon, everything will fall into place. 

* * *

"They've got twenty hours," said Colossus. "Do you think it will work?" 

"If they don't, then we get to have some fun," replied Toad. 

"Gooooooood," said Marrow, staring at one of her bone shards. "Waiting here is startin' t' piss me off." 

Nightcrawler sat away from the group. He was thinking of the words Mystique spoke to him. 

_"You're a Darkholme. So stop acting weak and embrace your destiny. The humans would kill us if we gave them the chance. It's time we took action." _

"Mother..." 

***ZAKT* **

A red beam of energy slammed through the wall of the Brotherhood's home. They were using an abandoned tenement as their base of operations. Up until now, they remained undiscovered. That was before Professor Xavier sent the location of their base to the rest of the X-Men. 

Wolverine stood front and center with his claws extended. Cyclops stood by his side, a hand on his visor. the rest of the X-Men were gathered behind them. Wolverine stepped forward, a rage building in his eyes. He snarled and lifted his claws up, giving the Brotherhood a reason to fear him. 

"Start praying."


	4. Part IV: Decisions

* * *

Issue #16 

"BROTHERS IN ARMS"  
Part IV: Decisions 

_by Dino Pollard_

* * *

  
****

"Do you remember when I looked like this, Charles?" 

Xavier sat in his wheelchair, his gun trained on the woman in front of her. The indigo-skinned intruder had already changed her shape. Now she was Caucasian, with long, black hair. He noticed the bullet wound in her leg had began to clot. Her shape-shifting abilities gave her accelerated healing - not as fast as Logan's, but better than nothing. 

"Do you, Charles?" she asked. "Back when I was Raven Darkholme? Back when we were young?" 

Xavier offered no reply, just held the gun tightly. His finger rubbed the trigger slightly, as if he was tempted to fire at any moment. 

"No?" she asked. "Fine." 

Her appearence altered once more. This time, she changed into a man with short, white hair. 

"Do you remember him, then?" she asked. "It seems so long ago, doesn't it? The three of us were going to change the world back then. Things didn't work out so well, did they? Remember when you and Erik went away for that week? Remember what happened?" 

"...yes," muttered Charles. 

"Those humans killed them..." continued Mystique. "Magda and the twins. Erik was devastated. And you? You blamed yourself for what happened. That was when it started to go downhill, remember?" 

Xavier flinched slightly as he recalled the events of years past. 

"That's when you abandoned me..." said Charles. 

"I had no choice," replied Mystique. "Erik was driving himself insane. He started talking about destroying all of humanity. You tried to convince him that that wasn't our goal, that we needed to work with the humans. But he didn't listen. The two of you fought constantly. I couldn't take it anymore, I felt like a babysitter. So I left. I began to continue the dream we started - to train young mutants in the use of their powers - to prepare them for the hard world they would have toi face. That's what the Brotherhood is, Charles. It's our dream personified." 

"No Raven... it's not," said Charles. "You turned the dream into a nightmare."  
  


* * *

"What the hell is this?!" exclaimed Toad. 

"It's called a raid, ugly," replied Psyche. 

"Take 'em out, X-Men," ordered Wolverine. Cyclops turned the dial on his visor once more, and a wide optic blast emerged. The blast struck Toad and sent him flying into some crates. He leapt out of them and crashed back down to the ground. His feet left indentations in the concrete. 

"Yer dead now, mate," he said, focusing on Cyclops. 

"Don't think so," said Beast as he leapt feet first into the Toad. He began to deliver a pummeling on the Brotherhood's field leader with his fists. 

"Divide an' conquer!" ordered Wolverine. "Don't give 'em a chance ta use any team tactics against ya!" 

He heard a low growl and turned to face the source. 

"Where ya think yer goin' old man?" 

Logan turned to see the deformed mutant known as Marrow standing before him. She had numerous bones growing from her body. She grabbed one of them and pulled it out with a sickening SCHLUCK. If it had caused her any pain, she certainly didn't acknowledge it. Bringing the blood-stained bone dagger to her mouth, she licked the crimson liquid from it and smiled. 

"Y' think ya got what it takes t' play in th' big leagues?" asked Wolverine. 

Marrow offered no response. She simply twirled the dagger in her hand, then pulled another one out. She crouched low and prepared to do battle with them. Wolverine lifted up his claws and got into a defensive battle stance. 

"Alright girlie," he stated. "Let's dance."  
  


* * *

Thunderbird rammed into Colossus at the speed of approximately one hundred and twenty miles an hour. 

"How'd y'like that?" asked Thunderbird. He cracked his knuckles. "Now get up, I'm not finished with you yet."

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM!!" exclaimed a voice. Thunderbird looked over his shoulder to find Avalanche running towards him.

"Bring it," stated Thunderbird. He prepared himself to deal with Avalanche, when the ground beneath Dominick Petros suddenly lifted him up and hurled him directly towards Thunderbird. John had no time to defend himself before Avalanche's fist struck him square in the jaw and sent vibrations running through his entire body. Thunderbird stumbled back and landed on the ground.

"...ow... wow..."

"There's more where that came from, too, you sack of shit," said Avalanche. He held out his hands, palms outstretched, and Thunderbird felt the ground begin to vibrate beneath him.

"Thanks, but I'm not really in the mood for a massage..." he muttered. That was right before the ground began to rise, and rocketed towards the ceiling. John saw it rapidly approaching.

"Oh this is gonna hurt..."

***CRASH***

* * *

Colossus barely had a chance to stand up when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked over just as a small fist struck his face and shattered his jaw.

"Shall we?" asked M.

Colossus got to his feet and transformed his skin into bio-organic steel. He reached up and felt his jaw, which was now perfectly in place. He then simply grinned and motioned for M to attack.

M pulled back for another punch, but Colossus caught her fist and swung her around before throwing her into the wall. She got to her feet, and Colossus was already on top of her. He slammed his fist into her face once more.

* * *

"Dibs on blinky!" exclaimed Sunspot.

"You and what army?" asked Cyclops. He fired an optic blast from his visor. Sunspot simply stood his ground, and allowed the blast to strike him. The blast didn't affect him in the least, save for the fact that the flames around his body grew brighter.

"Thanks," said Sunspot. He took aim and unleashed a solar blast which Cyclops had to leap away to avoid. "I'm called Sunspot because I absorb solar energy. Looks like that's what your blasts are."

The flames around Sunspot's body began to increase in intensity. He looked down at Cyclops and fired solar blasts from his eyes. Scott dodged them as much as possible. Sunspot then began to direct the blasts through his hands, and Cyclops attempted to deflect a few of them with his own optic blasts. Sunspot began to hover in the air, generating solar energy all around him. Cyclops kept his focus right above Sunspot's head, and turned the switch on his visor.

***ZAKT***

The spot where his blast struck the ceiling caused the roof to cave in ontop of the mutant. Cyclops walked up to the fallen Sunspot and saw that the solar energy around him had dissipated, and all that remained was a young, Brazillian man. 

* * *

"Let's make this quick, babe," said Iceman. Dazzler felt the temperature rapidly decrease around her. "I've got better things to do than hang around here playing cat and mouse with you."

Ice columns shot forth from the ground, forming a prison around her. Inside this prison, Iceman continued to lower the temperature to sub-zero levels. Dazzler's leather uniform was insulated and it provided her with some protection from the elements, but not the protection she required. She concentrated instead on the sounds around her, trying to soak them all in.

***KRAKA-THOOM***

The sound of thunder rocked the air as Storm fired a bolt of lightning at the Iceman. The thunderclap was exactly what Dazzler needed, and her eyes began to glow. A huge, multi-colored light dome appeared around her and grew larger, vaporizing the ice prison. She hurled several of these light bursts at Iceman to catch him further off-guard. She looked up at Storm for thanks, but instead, she gasped when she saw Rogue, who seemed to come out of nowhere, leap onto Storm.

* * *

"After I saw what Erik did to New York - and after what I saw you do to Erik* - I decided it was time for action," said Mystique. "Erik lost his mind after his family was killed. And you sold out, Charles."

( *In issue #6 - Dino )

"Magneto needed to be stopped," said Charles. "I couldn't allow him to kill more people."

"And that excuses your actions?" asked Mystique. "I knew what had to be done, Charles. I did what had to be done. After what I've seen over these past few years, I knew that the government would never accept mutants unless they were controlling mutants."

"You don't give them enough credit, Raven."

"Oh no?" asked Mystique. "I have two words for you, Charles - Black Air."

"What's Black Air?" asked Charles.

"I knew a change needed to come, so I put the Brotherhood into action."

"To do your dirty work..." muttered Charles. "Don't you realize that you're exploiting these people?"

"I saved them!" exclaimed Mystique. "I only made offers, I forced no one!"

"You care nothing for any of them, Raven."

"Don't you even say that..." stated Mystique. "Two of them are my children - my own flesh and blood."

"Children...?!"

* * *

From the shadows, two glowing, yellow eyes watched the whole battle play out. His name is Kurt Darkholme. He is the son of the Brotherhood's founder, Mystique. A teleporting mutant with jet-black skin and a demonic appearence. 

And of all the members of the Brotherhood, he is the most conflicted. He watches his teammates, his fellow brothers, fighting against the sellouts. The mutants who have betrayed their own kind.

He knows what he must do. He must fight them. His mother was right, she's always right. The humans would kill them if given the chance - so it was up to the mutants to take away that chance. In fact, the mutants were already putting their plans into action by bringing in other mutants to hunt them down.

_"You really think it's that simple, Nightcrawler?"_

Kurt flinched at the voice ringing through his head.

"Vas...?"

_"Let me tell you a little story, Mr. Darkholme - no, better yet, let me show you."_

And Kurt Darkholme sees, a young girl who, upon her thirteenth birthday, discovered she could hear what people really wanted to say. And he sees her driven to the brink of sanity by these voices in her head. He sees a kind young man - bald. A former student of her father's. He helped her. Showed her how to use these powers.

Kurt Darkholme sees her given a choice - a choice to work with the government in order to form more unity between humans and mutants. A chance for a better world. He sees all this, and he realizes that for the first time in his life, his mother is wrong.

"I... I don't know what to say..."

_"Then don't say anything."_

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see a young girl with short, red hair standing over him. She was dressed in the same uniform the rest of the X-Men were. And up close, she didn't appear to be an enemy.

_"They call me Psyche," _she said, still speaking with him telepathically. _"But my real name is Jean Grey - so why don't you call me that?"_

"Jean...?" he asked.

"And you're Kurt," replied Jean.

He looked towards the battle, and saw Rogue make contact with Storm's face. The effect was delayed, but Storm suddenly became weak and fell to the ground. Rogue, however, remained in the air.

"I must put a stop to this..." he muttered.

***BAMF***

* * *

"Weak," said Wolverine. "Slow. Unfocused. Arrogant."

He rattled off each of the faults of Marrow as his adamantium claws began to tear through her body.

"An' t' top it all off..." he continued, slashing one of her bone daggers into three seperate pieces. "Sloppy."

"Gonna tear ya t' pieces, old man..."

"You an' what army, kid?" asked Wolverine.

"DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' ARMY T' SLASH YER GODDAMN HUMAN-LOVIN' THROAT!!"

Her back suddenly exploded with bone spikes - spikes which impaled the X-Men's leader. She retracted them suddenly and stood to face him. The wounds on his body were numerous, and blood was leaking from them.

"That's gonna be a bitch for yer dry-cleanin' bill, traitor - blood don't come out of leather so easy."

"Won't be much of a problem, really..." muttered Wolverine. The wounds were already beginning to close up. "I've faced up against th' best, kid."

A scream of pure animal rage issued forth from her mouth. She leapt at him, daggers in each hand.

***SNIKT***

***SNIKT***

Logan turned away from her and drew a cigar from his inside jacket pocket. He sliced off the end and lit it. He made no effort to even look at her.

"Feel free t' scream now."

And she did just that, the stumps where her hands used to be spouting blood.

* * *

"This is actually sort of fun," admitted Beast. He continued to pummel the Toad into submission with his fists. Once Toad stopped moving, Beast stepped back to examine him.

"Did I win?"

The response came from the force of Toad's legs, which slammed full-force into Beast's chests.

***KRAK***

"That's th' sound of yer ribs breaking, mate," Toad revealed. "I'm a tad bit curious t' see what happens when I apply pressure t' that big college noggin of yours."

Toad placed his foot on Beast's head and began to push down. But then, once he looked up to see the coming storm, he removed his foot and focused his attention there.

* * *

The sound of thunder rocked across the room. The roof tore itself completely free of the tenement, leaving the Brotherhood and the X-Men exposed to the raw elements.

However, these elements weren't commanded by Ororo Munroe. Rather, they were commanded by Rogue. Storm, on the other hand, was currently lying unconscious on the ground. 

"Now who wants t' play?" asked Rogue with a grin.

"NEIN!"

Rogue pulled back in shock once she felt the sudden weight of Nightcrawler land on her back. She tried to pull away, thinking it was one of the X-Men, but with no luck.

"Marie, you must stop this!" he exclaimed. "This is not what we should be doing!"

"Wha-?" asked Rogue. "Kurt?!"

"Please Marie, listen," said Nightcrawler. "Mother was wrong. This is not the answer. They are not the enemy. Please Marie..."

"Ah... ah can't think straight..." muttered Rogue. The memories and thoughts of Storm were beginning to mix with her own. "Ah've never seen... never known... it can't be right, can it?"

* * *

"No, it's not right," said Charles. "Don't you realize that?"

"The Brotherhood has to take its place as humanity's betters!" exclaimed Mystique. "Why can't you realize that, Charles? Why can't you realize that you and your X-Men are expendable? Once they're done using you to do their dirty work, they'll just get someone else. Mutants are the future, and I won't allow them to be controlled."

"Then I won't allow you to leave this room."

"I want you to try and stop me, Charles."

Xavier rubbed the trigger again... contemplating... forming a strategy in his mind...

* * *

"GET OFF OF HER, Y' BLEEDIN' TRAITOR!" exclaimed the Toad. He leapt into the air, shoving Nightcrawler away from Rogue. The two tumbled together on the ground, and Toad ended up on top.

"I always knew y' were trouble," said Toad. "I would've killed you a long time ago if y' not f'r yer mum."

"Toad..." muttered Nightcrawler.

"What, y' got some last words before I tear your sodding head off right?"

"I've got two..."

Nightcrawler wrapped his legs around Toad's.

***BAMF***

"ARGH!!!" cried out the Toad in pain. His legs had vanished from the lower half of his body alongwith Nightcrawler.

Kurt reappeared a few feet away, the Toad's legs lying on the ground in front of him.

"You lose."

"I can't believe I stood up for that little shit!" exclaimed Avalanche. "I'm going to kill all of you!"

Before Avalanche could make a move, a bolt of lightning struck him. Electricity coursed throughout his body, and he fell unconscious.

"Leave mah brother alone," warned Rogue.

"DOM!" exclaimed Colossus. M simply rammed her elbow into his face. The impact forced him back and startled him enough to force him to shift back into his human form.

"Oh do be quiet."

Thunderbird took this opportunity as a blessing and slammed his fist into Colossus's nose. The force shattered it.

"Payback's a bitch, ain't it?" he asked just before Colossus faded into unconsciousness.

"Looks like that's all of them," noted Beast. "What now?"

Wolverine took a radio out of his belt and activated it.

"This is Lieutenant-Commander Logan, codename: Wolverine," he stated. "We need a clean-up crew at the following location..."

"Y' really think it's that easy, don't you?" asked Toad from the ground as Wolverine continued to speak into the radio. "This battle's a lot closer t' home than you arseholes think."

"Closer to home...?" asked Psyche. She turned to Rogue and Nightcrawler, who both sighed.

"The mansion..." replied Nightcrawler. "The founder... Mystique... she's there..."

"Oh no..." muttered Psyche. "LOGAN!"

"...we've got th' Brotherhood all accounted for - eight mutants in total, prepped for arrest."

He looked up at the approaching Psyche.

"Hold for a moment, agent," he stated before covering up the radio. "What is it?"

"The Professor," replied Psyche. "He's in danger."

Logan looked at Nightcrawler and Rogue, then back to Psyche.

"Belay that last command," he stated. "We've got six mutants in total, prepped for arrest. You'll be greated by Agent St. Croix when you get here. Logan out."

He turned off the radio, and pointed at M.

"Stay here until th' clean-up crew arrives," he ordered. "The rest of you, get t' the Blackbird - includin' you two. Thunderbird, carry Storm."

* * *

"The M-Squad has failed, Shiner," stated Gyrich. "You disappointed me, commander."

"We weren't prepared enough," replied Shiner. "If you give us more time to train, then we'll be able to take out the mutants."

"Your record says otherwise," said Gyrich. "At this point, I don't think the M-Squad is worth the money I've invested in it."

"So what do you plan to do, then?" asked Shiner.

"Follow me," replied Gyrich. He entered a command into a keypad and the door slid open. It was a circular room, with a large opening in the center of it. A keypad was in front of this, and Gyrich entered a code, followed by the turn of a key. Slowly, something slid up through this opening. It was a tank of some sort. Inside it, left in a state of suspended animation, was a man with short, silver hair. 

"This is our chance to eliminate those X-Men," he said.

* * *

"CHUCK!" exclaimed Wolverine. He kicked open the door to Cerebro and was met with a shock, as were the rest of the X-Men.

Mystique lay on the ground in a pool of blood. Motionless. Dead. In the wheelchair nearby, holding a smoking gun in his hand and rubbing his head with tears streaming down his face, sat Charles Xavier.

"I had no choice... May God forgive me... I had no choice..."


End file.
